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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Steamed Rava Ladu?!!

You got fooled? No not just 2 gaint ladus..... See below

Anyone heard of those? I had not till Vinaya sent me this mail for Diwali.

"My MIL taught me very simple and absolutely delicious ladoo yesterday- quite foolproof for ppl like me. Just dunked roasted rava, khava/pedha and grated coconut in a big tightly closed steel dabba. Proportions not hard and fast. Steamed this it for 20 mins without the whistle in a pressure cooker. When steamed added powdered sugar as per taste. Bas - vaLayla tayar - even i can make it. Added some dry fruits before steaming. really yummmyyyy :). She is am amazing cook - hope to learn a few things from her :)"

She was just in time. On the Friday before Diwali I went to the store at work and bought sweets and savouries all from Haldiram determined not to spend my time on the weekend making treats as I always do in Diwali season. Came home dumped it on the kitchen counter. Seeing I was tired after the hectic week Dad went and put all the packets away. It was quite a lot for the two of us and for visitors.

My plan of a relaxed Diwali was almost succeeding then just that night my SIL called up to check on my preparations for the upcoming festivities. I heard Dad complain, "She has not made anything !!"

Uh! I said and grabbed the phone from him trying to tell my SIL that he has just put away all the Haldiram stuff. I am determined not to slog this Diwali. That done I thought I'd sleep well that night but I couldn't. Dad knows what pushes me. He has always done this all the time and even though I know his tactics I still want to please him just like I did as a kid.

So the weekend was spent making 2 types of ladus and a Chivda on Sunday and Karanji (with a khava and semolina stuffing) and sweet Shakarpali on Monday, we had off at work here. I had aching hands with all the roasting, kneading etc but as a result a happy Dad!

Vinaya your MIL's recipe is a real breeze. Thanks to her and hugs n kisses to you for sending it to me just when I need it and isn't Diwali always about showcasing your skills as a Sugran?

Well though your mail said there are no proportions. I am enumerating here what I did.

Dry roasted semolina in a wok. Without any fat! Yes you are reading right these ladoos are fat free !! OK free from added fat.

Removed the wok from heat. Then added the grated coconut, khava. Toasted khus khus and sesame seeds a bit and added to the wok. Then mixed well with hand. The mixture felt moist but not wet. Later divided the mixture into two portions and filled in two steel lunch boxes and closed the boxes tightly.

In the small pressure cooker put two glasses of water and steamed the mix in the dabbas for 20 mins without whistle nor gasket.

After 20 mins. Put off heat and let it cool completely. When I opened the boxes the mixture felt nice and fluffy and was still warm. To this I now added the powder sugar. Mixed well with hand. It felt dryish to be rolled into ladus but to my surprise they held shape really well. I did not use any nuts as I had used in other ladu.

I was in doubt if they had good shelf life and they needed to last me through Diwali I wondered. The good news is they stayed good for 10 days till the last one was devoured. So I guess we can say these can last safely for 15 days without refrigeration.

They taste like the rava ladus made with sugar syrup which is supposed to be the right way of making ladus until women became lazy and made rava ladus with powder sugar and loads of ghee to bind them. That makes it a winner recipe!

P.S: Vinaya you will be happy to know I sent it for Gulabi and W had it too.

What you could do is. Put condense milk in a saucepan heat and reduce it to a crumble or very thick non pourable consistency. Steam all other ingredients and then before rolling ladus mix in the thickened condensed milk and then shape the ladus.

Also remember if the condensed milk you are using is sweetened then you will need less sugar.

Hi Anjali, I am a silent follower of your wonderful bolg and have read almost all your posts. Been aiming to make these laddus this weekend, as I am hell scared of sugar syrup. Now, I was wondering if freshly grated coconut is what I should use - it would make the whole deal real wet, won't it? It does have a lot of water/ moisture I think. Is it 'khopra boora' and not 'ola naarad' ? Kindly reply. Thanks, Mansi

Mansi It is ola naral. It gives enough moisture to bind the ladoo. Plus after a day the rava soaks up the moisture and the ladoo becomes drier. This is the best recipe for those scared of paak. You will love them. Thank you for the kind words about the blog and keep visiting and commenting when you have time :)